What is donewith loveis done well
A hostel breakfast that got out of hand. Here’s the whole inside scoop on our journey!
- Founded
- 2018, as a hostel breakfast
- First name
- La Terrasse, then Somewhere Over The Rainbow
- Renamed
- Bikini Bottom Express
- Kitchen
- Bread baked in house, beef butchered in house
- Founders
- Doan + Alex
Helloooo Friends
You order food. We make the food. You enjoy the food that you ordered and have a good time. That's the goal. Your happiness is our number 1, very top priority.
If you visit Bikini often then you already know our story, so no need to read further. But you have read this far, soooooo…
Truth is it's pretty weird how a few small choices and a wholeeee lot of mistakes lead us to where we are now. There was no master plan. You just take a path and keep walking it because it feels right, and before you know it you're in the middle of something pretty insane.
Our passion for doing this just keeps growing and growing. We genuinely love what we're doing, and more importantly we love who we do it with. That's all that matters really.
It's not about winning, it's about fun.
The Light House
In 2018, Doan was 23 and Alex was 27, and they started running a little hostel called The Light House. Built to be a bit of light for travellers passing through this place we call home.
Hungry guests kept asking for food. And we mean hungrrrry. So they started making food. Questionable looking breakfasts and community dinners, throwing their heart in for seasoning, with very little clue what they were actually doing.
But that's where the fire was lit. The moment people actually like what you create.
That's when they decided they were going to actually do this. Turn the hostel breakfast thing into an actual restaurant. Smash burgers, full breakfasts, salads, smoothie bowls, poke bowls, banh mi, whatever people wanted. Trying to cater to the whole world. Over time it formed into an Americany, Canadiany, global menu, inspiration from everywhere, still with something for everyone.
The Name Game
They kept trying different names. La Terrasse and Somewhere Over The Rainbow were tried and tested, and neither of them felt quite us.
In 2019 we opened another restaurant in Hoi An and wanted something quirky and different, so we rebranded into Bikini Bottom.
Inspired by the yellow dude living it up under the sea, just doing his thing. Young, wild, free. That's what it was supposed to feel like. Having a name that sticks in your head of course helps too. Something about Bikini Bottom just worked. It said what we wanted to say without overthinking it. Home comforts, done right, no fluff.
If you like SpongeBob, you know the inspiration. If you don't, then we're an American / Canadian diner and smash burger specialist with a weird, funny name.
If you believe in yourself, and with a tiny pinch of magic, all your dreams can come true.
Why a sponge
Bikini Bottom carries the souls of us when we were 23 and 27, spatula in hand, bringing with us the spirit of a hard working SpongeBob and the cartoon cutie pie world that started this whole adventure.
That cheeky little sponge drove us forward with the work ethic, the weird wisdom, and a whole vibe that just seemed like us when we needed direction.
The magic is you, all of you. If seeing you all at Bikini now isn't magic then what is. Thanks for being the magic and making this crazy dream come true. Just to have you walk through our doors, sit here with us and give us a chance to keep making the OG secret formula all over again. Our dream is already fulfilled.
Alex
Our kitchen carries a lot of influence from Alex Le, Montrealer Vietnamese and co founder, hence the poutine you'll see on the menu. Mozzarella instead of cheese curds, because that's what was in the fridge and because home is a feeling more than a recipe.
He left us in 2022 for a better place, for the real place over the rainbow, and we would love to let you all know about the legacy that we carry on.
We continue the journey he started, and keep his legacy alive through every dish served and everyone who leaves happy. We hope to be here for a long time, and that you're reading this message many years down the line.
So if you order the Almost Poutine, that's Alex. Order two.
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high.
Still growing into it
We're nowhere near perfect, but we're still growing into this little journey. We try and do things right: we bake our breads in house, butcher our own beef, and try to take more and more of what we do into our own kitchen as we go.
Our beautiful team are young, full of energy, and learning with us too. Offcuts come from Missteak, our own steakhouse. Nothing much gets wasted, everything gets eaten.
Four spots now, three in Da Nang and one on the riverside in Hoi An, all of them dangerously close to the beach. Over 1,500,000 empty plates since 2018, and we were lucky enough to be listed in the Asia Top 80 in 2021, 2022 and 2023, which still feels a bit super cool to type out.
Still lots of adventures to have. We're getting there, step by step. Thanks for being a part of that journey with us.
What is done with love is done well
All we really want is for you to leave full and happy. Then, and only then, is our job done well.
Bikini Bottom is young, wild, free and full of floors, but it's us :)
Love you long time. <3<3<3
Bikini Bottom Express Squad
How we got here
- 2018
The Light House
A little hostel in Da Nang. Hungry guests, questionable breakfasts, community dinners, and the moment people actually liked what we made.
- 2019
Bikini Bottom is born
A second spot opens in Hoi An and needs a name. La Terrasse and Somewhere Over The Rainbow get retired. Bikini Bottom sticks.
- 2021 to 2023
Asia Top 80
Listed three years running. Still not sure who let us in, but we'll take it.
- Today
Four spots, 1.5M+ plates
Three in Da Nang, one on the riverside in Hoi An, all near the beach. Open 8am till late, every day.
“Come and sit with us. Order too much, stay too long, and tell us if the burger isn’t right, we’ll make it again.”